


Diverted Destinies

by Merfilly



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Force Ghost Qui-Gon Jinn, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 04:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8475853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: Depa challenges Mace over the treatment of Anakin Skywalker. Little does she know that she is setting in motion a domino effect that will end with events radically changed.





	

Depa drew in a deep breath as she followed her Master from the Council chamber.

"You are wrong, Master, in how you handle the boy. I disagree strongly with both your actions and Master Yoda's, and fear the complacency that erodes the High Council for its nodding willingness to allow it."

The blunt words took Mace completely off guard, and he turned to stare at her. "Excuse me?"

"Admit that you see in him the same anger that runs so deep in you, Master, and then analyze where I am speaking from."

His former Padawan had so rarely balked him that he could do nothing but listen to her words rather than just hear her. His head was reeling from the way recent events kept narrowing in and focusing into hazy patterns of death and destruction with no clear indicators of how, or why. And now Depa was arguing this point? 

"We have more important things to worry about, Depa."

"I do not believe so, Master," she pointed out. "Master Jinn has handled this as poorly as he handles most things with the Council, but I am unwilling to concede the boy should go untrained. Especially when this warrior, no matter if he is Sith or some over Dark Force user, is proof that someone is pushing back against the Order.

"I have heard the growing unrest, the anti-Jedi sentiments, and while I may not be a seer, I do believe letting the potential that is Anakin Skywalker go free is to invite our enemies to take him into their fold, and craft a greater threat."

Mace wanted to rebuke her… but it was Depa. Depa had a manner of saying words he needed to hear, to guide him when the path was cluttered with too many points clouding his vision.

"Jinn cannot be the master," Mace said, finally conceding her points. "For all your ability to still your own temper, my former padawan, I do not believe you are the wise choice either. Who would take the boy after what was said in Council?"

"I will find one, before they return from this mission," Depa promised him.

+++

"Agree, the Council does, the boy to be trained, yes," Yoda said, his uncharacteristic anger showing in the even worse syntax of his Basic than usual. "Allow you to do so, we do not," he added before Obi-Wan could press his point.

"What?! I promised!"

"Under severe emotional duress, yes, you did. Hold you to this, your master would not. To yourself must you look, to move past this. Do this, you cannot, with care of a boy. Too different for the creche, he is. A Master is chosen for him."

"Who, Master Yoda? Who will treat him better than I would, when it was my own master's wish that I take him?" Obi-Wan asked with anger and hurt in his voice.

"Master Plo Koon, has experience with young ones, gifts that help," Yoda stated.

If Obi-Wan was being fair about it, Plo had, like in most of the Councils he had been to, merely sat and listened to the storm surrounding Anakin. Unlike Ki-Adi-Mundi who had baited out Mace and Yoda both in disavowing the possibility. He might even have been mollified by knowing it was a Council member taking the boy on.

All he could really feel was lost, as even the purpose of taking care of the boy was snapped, tearing away everything that had tied him to Qui-Gon. Yoda was already hobbling out of the room, oblivious to the storm brewing.

+++

Anakin had never seen anyone quite like Plo Koon, but appearances were just that. What would matter would be how the man, who had been in that room during those awful minutes, acted. Anakin didn't know what had happened after they left, and he wasn't happy at all about being taken away from the only people he knew. Granted, Padmé was Queen, so he wouldn't see her again any time soon (but he would, and he knew it, deep in his heart). Obi-Wan, on the other hand, had been known to him, and while he hadn't been the warmest outside of the first meeting, he'd been someone Qui-Gon Jinn liked. Which mattered, Anakin knew, because he had gotten the impression Master Qui-Gon didn't like many people.

"You do not trust me. I respect that, young one," Plo Koon said after a long silence between them. "I am to be your teacher. In order to do that, we must grow to know one another. If trust cannot exist, a new teacher will be found. Is this acceptable to you, young one?"

Anakin didn't hesitate; he'd survived too long as a slave. "Of course, Master Koon," he chirped.

He did not expect Plo Koon to crouch in front of him, like Qui-Gon had done, putting the masked face on a level with his own.

"Anakin Skywalker, please do not tell me what you think I wish to hear. That does not allow us to grow to know one another," Plo said in a gentle voice. "As your teacher, I need truth. You will never be punished for telling me the truth."

Anakin felt for his sense of truth in words, which he now knew was just listening to the Force, and found he wanted to believe the man. He looked down once, then back up. "I would rather be with Obi-Wan Kenobi, sir. I know him, at least a little."

Plo nodded just a little. "I can understand that, but perhaps if I tell you from a different angle, you may understand why we chose differently for Kenobi?"

Anakin blinked, uncertain at that phrasing. "Maybe?"

Plo settled on the floor to ease his knees, and framed his words carefully. "Obi-Wan Kenobi has lived the last twelve years of his life with Master Jinn. They have been through trials together that few other training pairs have seen. Even as strong in the Force as Obi-Wan is, and his careful awareness of the code, he should be allowed time to come to terms with his master's passing, especially as they did not manage to sever their bond gently before Qui-Gon died. Even I, who was only Qui-Gon's friend, feel grief for the loss, but I am more experienced, more able to focus on the living. I would not demand that of a young man like Obi-Wan.

"To take on the training of such a young student, when Obi-Wan has never even taken a turn guiding a youngling clan, would be a heavy weight to add to his grieving. Does this make sense to you?" Plo finished.

"I guess so. Can I still be his friend?"

"Of course. If you can become a good friend to him, it might help him ease the grief more quickly, actually." Plo then held his hand out, in the human manner of sealing a deal. "Will you allow me to teach you, young one, for the time being?"

"Are you always going to call me my whole name or 'young one'? It's kind of weird. I'm Anakin." He hesitated, waiting for the answer.

"If you prefer to be called Anakin, then that will be what I use."

The small hand settled in his, shaking briefly, before Anakin scrunched his nose up. "Is it Master Koon, or Master Plo, or Master Plo Koon?" he asked.

Plo took his hand back when Anakin released it, and shook his head. "The proper way to refer to me outside of our quarters would be 'Master Plo Koon'," he said. "But when it is you and I, why don't you use 'teacher', unless some other form of address suits you?"

Anakin's eyes went wide as the Force thrummed with the sincerity of that offer. This man was intent on avoiding the 'master', and the boy realized that it was part of his trying to be kind and gentle, by avoiding the terminology of slavery.

"I think I like that."

+++

Obi-Wan could feel the emptiness of the quarters he had moved into. He kept himself wrapped in the over-sized robe of his Master, the green-bladed lightsaber on his hip.

The aching emptiness in his mind, his very soul, was reflected in the new room. He had boxed up all of Qui-Gon's effects, what few there had been, and sent them to Master Dooku on Serenno, per a conversation with the older man at the funeral.

He had a standing invitation to go join him there, if he needed time away from the press of the Order. It was so very tempting, with everything else he had been through. His Knighting had been a quick formality, tended by Adi, at least. She'd even shared the vigil at the funeral with him, letting him feel her grief at losing her long-time friend.

Maybe he should go to Dooku. The man had removed himself from Jedi affairs, mostly retiring, but there was a part of Obi-Wan's mind that kept coming back to his betrayals of Qui-Gon's faith in him, when he had wound up leaving the Order because of The Young.

If he walked away again, wouldn't that be as good as never having apologized and come back? Wouldn't it be as bad as the moment he had pulled his lightsaber against Qui-Gon in a desperate bid to help The Young, even though he had seriously endangered Tahl's life by doing so?

"I don't know what to do!" he snapped to the empty air. 

~Center.~

Obi-Wan startled, because he could have sworn that sounded like his Master. Yet… they said strong emotions could produce hallucinations. His Master certainly had heard one in the aftermath of losing Tahl some years ago, believing the woman called out to him after her death.

He knew the imagined voice was speaking from experience, though, even if it was just his subconscious. With care, he found the one possession of his own that he had refused to part with, a gift from his thirteenth Name Day. The stone came out of an innermost pocket, almost pulsing with the Force, drawing his attention to a tightly focused point. All of his scattered thoughts settled, as the stone let him hyper-focus on just that one thing. How many times had it saved his life to have the stone? Qui-Gon had gifted him wisely, after such a short time together.

~Even then, I think, our souls understood one another.~ 

The words were right, and more, this time, Obi-Wan could have sworn he felt Qui-Gon in the room with him.

~I am, my padawan-no-longer. This, Obi-Wan, was the secret I was keeping from you, learning this aspect of the confluence of the types of Force.~

"But… isn't it wrong to refuse to become one with the Force?" Obi-Wan asked, even as he felt a tiny surge of hope within his heart.

~Perhaps it is considered so, but I seek to aid, to continue to guide. You unwittingly became a strong focus and pull for me, Obi-Wan.~ Qui-Gon's voice was gently apologetic. ~I have grown so attached to you in our life together. Forgive me?~

"For that, yes! But for rushing ahead—"

~One would die. No matter what, my dear friend. I could not let it be you.~

Obi-Wan didn't even realize he was sobbing until his voice broke, ugly and so full of emotions. "I would have rather been the one than you," he managed to say.

There was a long moment of silence, and Obi-Wan's heart hammered, even as he could not stop his tears. Then that solid presence of his Master settled around him, it felt like, and he was overwhelmed by the intensity of love being directed at him.

~I am with you… my love.~

Those words finished breaking the walls Obi-Wan had begun to build, and he cried himself out in the ghostly embrace.

+++

Plo and Anakin had found a careful place to build their relationship on, as Anakin had never known a father and only just begun to crave one in Qui-Gon. Plo, who was known and loved as such by several in the Temple (a fact that amused those who knew Ki-Adi-Mundi was a family man and not the slightest bit paternal to his daughters) was very careful to respect the boundaries Anakin put in place, even subconsciously.

All that changed when Plo decided to learn how well Anakin could pilot, having known he'd had an astromech with him during the battle above Naboo. He had taken the boy down to the hangar, intending to put a simulator program into place.

The naked hunger on Anakin's features changed the plan, as Plo opted for a two seat ship that only required one pilot if necessary. 

A series of small hyperspace jumps had them out of the inner core traffic, in a quiet area of space, and Plo looked at Anakin. "Walk me through the controls, what they do, why you might use them. If you do not know one, please ask, then we will repeat."

Anakin's eyes were shining as Plo stepped out of the pilot's space and took the co-pilot seat, listening as Anakin explained every single knob, indicator, lever, and button he knew, most of it learned on that mission to Naboo, as Ric Olié had been thorough. Plo told him the ones he didn't recognize, why they were there, and then they did it all once more.

"Now, fly, Anakin," Plo said, satisfied that the theory was in place. "No hyperspace, not yet, but if you wish to try atmospheric conditions, that little planet there is safe to use as a practice point. And we are unlikely to encounter another ship here; I prefer this system for that."

Anakin's eyes bulged out. "Really, sir?"

Plo inclined his head, having learned Anakin reacted better to a physical reassurance early on, so long as it did not involve touching the boy.

"Yippee!" Anakin could not help but cheer, before he started testing the small ship's capabilities. Nor did it take many sidelong glances at Plo to figure out that he was allowed to get a little wild, putting the ship through maneuvers that made the inertial dampeners groan.

Anakin heard Plo laugh, a warm rich sound, when they did, and it melted some of the reserve the boy had been holding.

"You like flying, really like it," he finally asked, once he had gotten the need to fly under control. "You feel lighter to me, more… more real."

"Ahh," Plo breathed out as he glimpsed some of what might have been making things so difficult. "Yes, Anakin. I love to fly. It is my indulgence, the passion that I try to restrain, for sake of filling my duties, but the feel of a ship responding to my touch? It is more pleasure for me than dueling is for many Jedi.

"And I am sorry, Anakin, that I have been so somber with you. I wished to give you the dignity you deserve, by maintaining a proper attitude."

Anakin's nose crinkled as he scrunched up his face. "You felt like _that_ room all the time," he said, and Plo easily saw the room where the confrontation over Anakin's fate had taken place.

"Anakin… my young friend, if I may call you that? We made many mistakes that day. I do hope you allow me to atone for my silence in the matter, and aid you on your path as a Jedi."

The boy considered those words, felt the rightness of them, and held his hand out, as Plo had done for him. Plo carefully shook the outstretched hand, keeping his talons clear of fragile human skin.

"I want that… Master Plo," Anakin said, with the last two words said almost shyly. Plo felt his soul grow warm, and he inclined his head deeply to the boy.

"I will do my best not to betray the courtesy you have given me, Anakin."

+++

Obi-Wan looked up as Anakin came into the salle he was practicing in, and gave the boy an honest smile. Three months of living in the Temple had eased off the half-starved look, and Anakin carried himself with a confidence that was more true and less bluster at a world designed to kill him.

"I wanted to say thank you, sir," Anakin said, once he knew he had Obi-Wan's attention. "Master Plo told me that my mother is living on Naboo now. That you went and arranged it."

That made Obi-Wan turn off his lightsaber and walk over to crouch in front of the boy. "It was the needed thing to do. And your friend," he said, stressing the word to convey this had been a private action, "Padmé gave me the aid I needed to do so. It is one less worry to distract you, yes?"

"Yes, sir," Anakin said, half-smiling. "I try not to be distracted."

"Master Plo said you are learning how to handle the press of constant ideas and different directions," Obi-Wan said warmly. "I have faith you will become as good a Jedi as the last padawan with concentration difficulties."

"Who was that, sir?" Anakin asked as Obi-Wan moved back and stood.

"I think you've met him. But you should probably go; this training remote is set to a heavier stun than the ones you use, Anakin."

"Yes, sir," Anakin told him, dashing off to his next class.

~You could have told him it was you,~ Qui-Gon chided gently, lovingly even. He'd been stunned to learn his padawan had once faced learning disadvantages, given how studious he'd been. But then, Obi-Wan knew how to mask his flaws, quirks, and disadvantages better than most, Qui-Gon was slowly learning.

"I also could have told him you told me to help his mother, but how would either fact aid his training now? Do quit distracting me, Master, and let me practice," Obi-Wan told the spirit, the man that only he, so far, had been able to see and feel. That Qui-Gon had anchored him in the Light, giving him the mission of insuring Anakin stayed strong, was not something that needed to be said, so long as Obi-Wan could bask in the knowledge he was loved by the elder Jedi.

+++

The first time Anakin was teamed up with Initiates his own age for a Force exercise, Plo found himself actually angry. Not at his padawan. Not even at the Initiates that had been rude and vulgar to his padawan.

He was angry with the Order for fostering the arrogance that the younglings had displayed to Anakin.

The Council heard about it at length, even though Plo Koon had given up his seat to his friend Kit Fisto, in order to focus on teaching the boy. Anakin needed far more than any of his padawans, making up for a haphazard education and late start in the Force traditions.

Yoda's answer was to send him out on a mission, taking his padawan, as there shouldn't be much danger in letting the boy be involved in the mission to Shili. Plo Koon had a sneaking suspicion he was being shunted from his actual need to see change in policies, but allowed for the mission being needed. It would also take them away from the unusually prevalent interest the Chancellor had taken in his student, something that kept striking wrongly at Plo's extra senses.

Shili, it turned out wasn't as easy a mission as he hoped, but Anakin kept his head, and diplomacy mostly prevailed.

"Master?" Anakin said, scanning all around, though he tried to be discreet.

"I feel it… no, her… as well, my child," Plo said, smiling down at Anakin for those senses. "See if you can guide us to her?" Attuning to those who were Force Sensitive was a trait to encourage, especially when he had so many reasons to reject people already. Anakin nodded once, then let his senses lead him… straight to the tiniest Togruta either of them had seen yet on Shili, outside the ones carried firmly in their parents' slings.

Anakin dropped down on his knees, then to his butt, so he wasn't over the child's height so much, smiling at her as he projected warmth/curious/friendly just like Plo had been teaching him. The girl grinned and giggled, reaching out to put her hand on the human boy's face in exploration.

"Hello?" she said in slow Basic, her voice very high-pitched.

"Hello, little friend," Anakin said, awed at how quickly she had been willing to touch an alien when she seemed so young. He looked up to Plo, eyes curious as to what they did now, and it drew the child's eyes to the tall man.

Plo carefully knelt as well, as the child's eyes went wide, but her smile did not falter. Like with Anakin, she reached out to touch, fingers light on the seam between mask and flesh, guided by the Force to be careful of his organs near the mouth piece.

"Friend?" she piped, mimicking Anakin's word, and throwing the same feeling into the Force.

Plo had not felt someone so naturally suited to the Living Force since… since they had lost Qui-Gon. Yet the Cosmic Force also had a hold on her, and that could lead to an interesting Jedi, if… if the child wished to train. He looked up, seeing several adults had circled around them. By cut of their cloth and subtle similarities in markings, Plo reasoned that these were most certainly her direct kinfast, if he remembered the word from Shaak correctly.

"The child is strong in the Force."

"So we know, Friend Jedi," a man with impressively sized horns said to that. "Her parents are but recently returned from a Long Hunt, and she had not been tested when last we saw the Jedi-Who-Hunts. You are here now; will you take her to become a Jedi?"

Plo Koon didn't need any extra senses to feel Anakin's unease, and he shifted a hand to the boy's shoulder, giving him a surge of comforting energy. He then focused on the child. "What is your name, little one?"

"Ah-so-kah Tah-no!" she said, proud of herself for saying the whole thing. In his mind, he heard the one she was called, and it made him smile.

"Little 'Soka," he said, using the name she had thought, "do you wish to go away, far away, and learn to be a Friend Jedi?" he asked her, setting Anakin far more to rights. "You would be gone from your family for long, long times."

Ahsoka tipped her head to the side, thinking as hard as any child could, more, perhaps, as he saw all the signs of that preternatural maturity the Force brought to some. "Go, learn, be strong huntress?"

Anakin smiled at her priorities, but kept his silence. 

"You will be like the Jedi-Who-Hunts, if that is what you wish to be," Plo Koon assured her.

Without hesitation, the child moved her hand to take his taloned finger, before looking back at the adults. When one nodded, she looked back at the two Jedi and smiled wider.

"I go!" she declared, before flinging herself at Anakin in a hug, having felt his strong swell of emotion and reacted to it. Plo Koon foresaw his padawan taking more of an interest in the creche because of this, and that could not be a bad idea at all.

+++

Obi-Wan kept a very polite smile on his face as he handled the request from the Chancellor of all people. "No, Chancellor, I am afraid Anakin is in a very delicate stage of training and will not be available this week." 

There was a flicker of a frown, then the holo cleared to the amiable smile the man fostered. "Well, do tell him his friend is thinking of him. Thank you, Knight Kenobi."

The comm ended, and Obi-Wan sagged in his seat, thankful he had thought to tell the comm center to intercept and redirect Anakin's calls like that to him.

~I still cannot get close enough to investigate.~

"I know, Master. That alone tells me he is, at minimum, in league with the Sith master of your killer." Obi-Wan felt the ghostly touch of his Master's spirit settling around him, making him feel warmer and loved. "You still spoil me," he murmured.

~You deserved far more than I ever gave to you, my love.~

Obi-Wan half-smiled, even as he thought of Anakin's 'training'. Ever since returning from Shili, the creche had not lacked for extra hands, as Anakin and Plo Koon both were volunteering down there. The unexpected bonus of it had been that several older younglings were gravitating to Anakin, pulled in by the boy's earnest care for those weaker than he was. It had cost the Initiates who had taunted him a lot of respect in the eyes of their normal adoring crowd, because Anakin never seemed too busy to help a youngling with a lesson he already knew.

The Knights had commented that Anakin was also quietly learning from those younglings, when they did something he hadn't encountered, just watching and copying when he thought no one was actively watching him.

He sighed, rolling his neck. "I can't just go to the council and say 'Qui-Gon can't get near the Chancellor, maybe he's a Sith', so we will have to start looking for evidence."

~Adi.~

"Of course, Master, I plan to start with her. Just… try not to make commentary when I am with her? It's very hard to bite back responses when you distract me," Obi-Wan said with a sly smile at the place he could feel Qui-Gon at.

~Would I ever?~

"Yes."

+++

"Ahh, young Skywalker!" 

Anakin looked up from cleaning Caleb's face off, standing and giving the short bow that was courteous among humans, though his eyes remained on the man's face. He flicked his fingers and the younglings tightened into a small pack behind his legs, with Ahsoka taking charge, like usual.

"Chancellor Palpatine," he greeted politely. He tried not to think about the fact the guards on either side of the man were all but blank slates inside his awareness, part Force capability and part of Plo exploring how to adapt that into his own extra sensory perceptions. Having a telepath to guide his explorations of others had shaped Anakin's use of the Force in new, subtle ways.

"I never seem to catch you in the Temple, and here I find you escorting future Jedi through an art exhibit. Such coincidence," Palpatine said, smiling in that elderly relative manner that made everyone trust him.

Only, Anakin was still mindful of his lessons as a slave, and knew that a person only did that to get what they wanted. At twelve, he was more than responsible enough to keep an eye directly on the younglings, while the Knights with them browsed in their own time. Caleb was youngest, but Ahsoka was adept at keeping up with her youngest 'sibling', as she called all of them.

"Master Plo is trying to insure I get the widest education I can, so I can be a strong Consular or Guardian some day, Chancellor," Anakin said. "Minding the younglings is a privilege for me, so that I can share some of what I have learned."

"I see." Palpatine narrowed his awareness to just the young padawan. "I do hope you still know you may, at any time, contact me. I really do feel a great debt to you for saving my home system, and aiding the young queen in her mission," he told Anakin in a very sincere voice.

"I do know, sir." Anakin gave him a winning smile, then glanced down as Ahsoka tugged his hand.

"Gotta go," she said in a stage whisper that only every person in a fifteen meter circle heard. Anakin looked back up at Palpatine with an apology on his face.

"Sorry, sir, but younglings," he said, giving a short bob, before he picked Caleb up onto his hip, and the rest of them joined hands with Ahsoka to go find a 'fresher as a pack. Neither Anakin nor Ahsoka said a word more after that, even as Anakin watched the Chancellor sweep on with his guards and entourage. Shortly after, the pair of Knights that were actually on creche duty came and found him with Clawmouse Clan in the museum's cafe.

"I think they're all pretty tired," Anakin said, not wanting to mention the encounter. 

As soon as they were in the Temple, though, Anakin held Ahsoka back, away from the others. "You interrupted the Chancellor meeting with me on purpose, didn't you?" he asked. "Not mad, just curious," he quickly added, crouched in front of the tiny girl that was his sister in all ways that mattered to him.

"You felt different, a little bad?" Ahsoka offered. "Like when Master Windu fusses at you."

Anakin grimaced; nothing he ever did seemed good enough for that Master, but at least he didn't take any classes from the man. He brought his forehead to Ahsoka's gently, and smiled at her. "I felt uncomfortable, yes. You did good. Just be careful, if we ever see him again, not to be too obvious about getting me away from him."

"Okay, Ani." She threw herself into a hug from that position, rocking him back on his heels, but he held her close for a very long time, trying to figure out how to explain this to Master Plo.

+++

In three years, Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia had slowly, carefully nibbled at the edges of the man known as Sheev Palpatine. It had been near impossible at first to find the edges of corruption to begin peeling off the veneer. No one, however, was perfect. Travel patterns, sliced communications, curious coincidences, and political alliances were all thoroughly investigated by the pair, with ghostly help on one side of the duo. 

They had a very slim case built, one that would never sway public opinion.

They didn't need public opinion, though, and just went after key allies in the Senate first, laying out the groundwork for creating an obstructionist platform against the man's further plans. Then, only then, did they take their project and evidence to the Council.

~This is going to be so fun to see,~ Qui-Gon projected, earning him a silent exasperated feeling from Obi-Wan.

"Fellow Masters, I know it has not escaped attention that Knight Kenobi and I have been diligent in a project over the last few years, refusing many missions in the process," Adi began.

"Hard to miss, Master Gallia, given that your absence on at least two missions may have contributed to losing a major system in the Mid-Rim," Saesee Tiin said with displeasure, still smarting over the failure of his most recent padawan to manage that negotiation better.

Obi-Wan carefully kept his commentary on pride and hubris in his mind, not on his lips.

Adi gave the older master a smile that was downright chilling to make up for his forbearance. One thing they had both come to understand, as they investigated so many avenues, was that the Order itself was vulnerable as it possibly had not been in centuries. The Jedi were scattered far and wide. The Temple housed their oldest members, their youngest ones, and those who did not feel up to the physical and mental demands of traveling missions for various reasons. In other words, the Temple held their richest wisdom and their future, in the heart of a world that had a growing movement against them.

"Obi-Wan brought to me a conjecture, that perhaps the Sith lord was manipulating events directly from here on Coruscant. He pointed out that the Sith warrior was waiting for them on Naboo. We went through the events leading to the Invasion, surveying all the likely persons that had benefited, directly or indirectly. We followed the court cases against the Trade Federation, and paid attention to shuffling behind the scenes there.

"And, slowly, we amassed a case against the man that is in theory the most powerful being in the Senate," Adi concluded. She held up here hands to still the outcry around them. "I have already presented my evidence to the young Senator of Alderaan, their Viceroy and Prince Consort. I have discussed it with those Senators I trust implicitly, with his oversight, as he has become a forerunner in the movement against those advocating for violence against the secessionist systems.

"He has pledged Alderaani support to finding stronger evidence, and is fairly certain he can bring Corellia into the project, once he goes on a state visit there," Adi told the Council. "Our evidence was convincing to him, but it is not enough to sway the Senate fully."

"Then what plan have you come up with, Master Gallia, as you have evidently spent much time on uncovering the true enemy?" Mace asked her, leaning back in his chair, even as his head was reverberating with the news she had imparted to them.

"Oh, that's Kenobi's part of the briefing," Adi said, with an edge of humor that was sharp and could have been desperate in another being.

"Masters, in the course of our investigation, we have dipped into sectors of Coruscant that, in the past, have sheltered us gladly," Obi-Wan said. "This is no longer the case, I assure you. The murders of Darsha Assant and Anoon Bondara could very well happen to any of us, without the Coruscanti seeing it as anything other than 'pest management'."

Another round of shock interrupted him, and unlike Adi, he was not going to hush them. It took Yoda clearing his throat to bring order back, and for Obi-Wan to be able to continue.

"I propose a very subtle withdrawal from Coruscant, so as to not be where our enemy believes us to be," Obi-Wan said, standing tall and shoulders going rigidly back. "I say this, as the feelings brewing against the Jedi are only strengthening, and I believe them to be the work of the Sith. I feel the knowledge we have here, as well as our potential future, needs to be moved to a more secure, secret location."

"Nonsense! We are safest here, in our strength," Yarael Poof scoffed. 

Adi looked at him with a withering expression. "I say Obi-Wan is correct. The Sith had struck their opening blows. Are we going to sit by and think ourselves invulnerable, when we have been losing members steadily for the last generation, at least, to a myriad of events that blew up around the galaxy? Obi-Wan and I are convinced now that Naboo was not actually the opening gambit. Our tracing of connections guided us to investigate a man heavily tied up in the Stark Hyperspace conflict, one we both participated in, along with several other Jedi. 

"It was a test, to see what our strength was, how we would react to an attempt to militarize the Republic. And we have seen the results. The Fleet that exists now is far stronger than it has been in centuries." Adi looked around at each of them, then pulled a data pad and flicked it to project a set of numbers. "This is a raw data projection of the estimated numbers within the Order, based on all that are registered and not reported dead.

"The line below that? Are those who are confirmed to be living within the last three years. A significant change, my fellow Masters." She let them digest that, then flicked it to show a different graph. "This shows the average reported Jedi deaths by decade. Do you see the gradual rise and then the sharp jump? We are being hunted, forced into more and more situations that end in lightsabers instead of negotiation. And we are dying, because the enemy has prepared the battle ground.

"I say we shuffle our records and artifacts away, move the youngest and the ones in need of shelter," Adi said. "Let Organa do his work of stoking the Senate in a way that delays and hopefully frustrates the Sith. It will take time, for both parts, to be effective. But in the end, it means the Sith no longer controls the battleground."

Voices rang out, questioning, arguing, but Obi-Wan was fixed on the quiet conversation taking place between Mace and Yoda. Let the others talk, but it all came down to them. If they made a choice, the rest almost always fell in line. That had been why they all had initially chosen to go against Anakin's training. Obi-Wan still had no idea how that had been reversed to the point of a master being selected for Anakin before Qui-Gon's funeral.

"Master Gallia and Knight Kenobi are correct," Depa Billaba said, surprising Obi-Wan as her voice rose above the others. "At worst, it means we use resources to move people and things with little cause. At best, it could mean the salvation of the Order's Archives, the children, our retired members who still give so much by teaching what they know. We can use the AgriCorps shipments and movements to mask what we are doing."

"Then, it seems, we need to decide where, doesn't it?" Mace Windu stated, ending the debate by throwing his weight behind the idea. "Master Fisto, please assist Masters Koth and Rancisis in plotting the logistics of this. Knowledge of what is happening must be contained, so keep that in mind."

Kit gave a nod and his customary grin; he knew he was being asked to take charge of that because of certain contacts he held outside the Order.

"Master Tiin, to you, the task of recall is given," Yoda told the strategist and battle master. "Full, the Temple should seem. Quietly, they must come."

Saesee considered, looking at the problem differently now that a course had been decided. "I believe, Masters, that if we are committing to this subterfuge, it would be best if we begin reporting more of our Knights and even some Knight-Padawan teams as lost, presumed killed in the line of duty," he suggested. "To divert them to our new sanctuary."

"A good idea. Lies may be the tool of our enemies, but they can serve as our shield against the blind dejarik we are currently engaged in," Adi agreed. "Now, to set about serving the Republic as best we may by undoing the Sith."

+++

Ahsoka sniffled even as she tried to be brave, holding the hands of two that were smaller, younger than she was. Just before the Knight in charge of loading them could call for her clan to come forward, though, she let go of them and flung herself at Anakin's legs, wrapping around them tightly.

Gently, the boy used hands and Force to unwrap her so he could pick her up, settling her on his hip. "Shh, little 'Soka, don't you cry. I know you can be brave for me, and watch over the littlest ones now," he told her softly, bringing his forehead to hers so that their noses almost touched.

"You won't forget me, will you?" Ahsoka asked, eyes big and her heart hurting so much at leaving him and Master Plo.

"Of course not, little 'Soka," Anakin reassured her. "You're going to go get big and strong and smart somewhere safe. And I'll be thinking of you every day, I promise."

She squeezed her tiny arms around his neck, then looked at Plo. The Master obliged, taking her from his sturdy padawan, letting her hug him as well. 

"We are with you, Ahsoka," he told her, one talon coming up to rest over her heart. "Here. Now, go, and learn all you can of how to be the Jedi-Who-Hunts in the future."

"Yes, Master Plo."

When she was set on her feet, she walked back among the younglings, taking two hands from the little ones, and obeyed the Knight guiding them onto the ship. 

Anakin didn't mind a bit when Plo's hand came to rest on his back, warmly, as they watched in silence while the younglings were taken away to hopeful safety.

+++

"Master Plo," Anakin began, his face scrunching up much like it had when he first came into Plo's care. "What if I am the Chosen One? Is there something I should be doing? I mean, I still don't think I believe it, but some others do. So shouldn't I… be more active?"

Plo smiled behind his mask, engaged by his padawan's worries as only a proud father or teacher could be. In the two years since the younglings had been shuffled out, Anakin had borne up well, assisting Plo in missions that had tested him time and again. He had accepted losing contact with the little ones as a matter of necessity, but Plo knew it still weighed on him. Every time Anakin came into contact with the young people on their missions, it showed in his eyes.

Working in the creche had done wonders to keep the boy's need to help alive. 

"You are an inspiration already, my son," Plo told him, as they were in private, and no one was there to rebuke the familial attachment. "Your perseverance against those who ridiculed you broke the stubborn antipathy against you at the higher levels. Your work with the younglings goaded many of them to study ever harder in their lessons. Your ability to assist me in any mission, despite your youth, is remarkable. You are making much of the potential you have.

"Now, why don't you tell me what is actually on your mind?"

Anakin broke into a soft smile, looking down, as his Master caught him out. "I think the Chancellor believes I am the Chosen One. I think that's why he keeps trying to seek me out. And I can't help but wonder if maybe I should play the part, to see if it helps lure him into a false move we can exploit."

Limiting awareness of who the Sith was had been necessary, but given how the Chancellor had interacted with Anakin, it had been decided to let Plo know. Plo, in turn, had taken Anakin aside and discussed it with him, to explain why they would be stepping up their work away from Coruscant. Now, hearing what his young padawan wished to do, Plo felt the strong reaction of a father seeking to protect their child rear up.

"That would be a very dangerous ploy."

Anakin moved over quickly, sitting next to the Kel Dor master, tucking under an arm. "With what you can do, and Master Fisto's help, I think we could protect me from him, and wouldn't it be worth it, before more lives are lost in the escalation between Senate factions and what's happening in the Separatist systems?"

Plo Koon forced his breathing to remain steady and calm so his filtration system didn't have to struggle to remove the poisonous oxygen. "My son, how did you grow so brave?"

"I've had good role models."

+++

"You don't understand me, you never have!"

"Anakin! Come back here! If you proceed in this, you will have nothing!"

The words were loud, a fight nearly on the steps of the Senate, the latest in a series of escalating issues between the Kel Dor Master and his human padawan.

"I am nothing anyway! Just a slave to your system! That's all you've ever seen me as!" Anakin tugged at the long braid on his right side. "This is just like the chip! A symbol of never being free!"

"The Jedi Order is a prestigious body, dedicated to rising above personal — "

"NO! It steals everything from the people it takes away from family!"

With that, Anakin took off at a run, one more shout of his name chasing him as he lost himself in the building that housed the government of the entire galaxy, while the press picked at the story from multiple angles, most of which painted the Jedi in a bad light. Resolutely, Plo Koon returned to his duties, meeting with a Senator who had requested Jedi opinion on their bill. He answered the concern over his padawan brusquely, focusing on the work that needed to be done.

Only once he was back in the Temple did he allow the strain of staging it all to show, sinking into a chair in his quarters with shaking hands. He looked up as Kit Fisto joined him, glad to see his young friend, but so terribly worried over the task Anakin had set himself on.

"He will survive this," Kit reminded.

"But at what cost?"

+++

Obi-Wan (and his ever-present ghostly companion, Qui-Gon) arrived back at the Temple from an intelligence gathering mission to feel a subdued atmosphere hanging over the Order. The Knight felt every bad feeling he had ever had sharpen into a huge warning sign. 

~Anakin? He's not here, but I feel Plo.~

That, from Qui-Gon in his mind, sent the Knight seeking the Kel Dor Master, his stride swift and sure. He found the man standing in front of one of the higher windows, looking out across the expanse of Coruscant. Obi-Wan tried to read him, a difficult thing as most of Plo Koon's mannerisms were calculated approximations of human, when dealing with such. Reading him without those was near impossible.

~He is worried. The sensory organs are vibrating slightly,~ Qui-Gon offered to his beloved. He had known Plo most of his own life, had been good friends with him even.

"Master Plo?" Obi-Wan questioned, causing the man to turn briefly, nod his head, and then return to looking over the city. 

"Welcome back, Obi-Wan Kenobi," the older man said. "Did you make progress on Serenno?"

"Regrettably. From all that I could see, Dooku has truly rejected the Order, and is potentially at risk for a Fall, if not already there."

"A tragic loss, and a serious threat, all in one," Plo answered that.

"Master, where is Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, his agitation getting the better of him.

Plo did not answer him directly, a taloned hand flicking toward the window before he stilled it. After a long moment, Plo did finally speak. "He made a choice, one that I am still worrying over, Obi-Wan. He chose to put himself at risk, to try and learn more of our enemy."

"He did what?!" exploded from Obi-Wan as he felt every protection he had ever placed around the boy was now at risk.

"Sit, and I will tell you of his choice, of what Kit and I did, to try and make it work, as he insisted this needed to be done."

+++

Anakin listened as Palpatine explained to an aide just how unfortunate it was that they had mismanaged their task, and while he regretted the necessity, he was dismissing the aide from service. That the being was evidently afraid was enough to set Anakin on alert; since the Chancellor had taken him in, he had seen nothing but a kindly man, though one who goaded on the questioning that Anakin was bringing to bear on the Order and its tenets.

Anakin was more than a little shaken to find he actually did have an issue with the Order that went above the way some of the Council still reacted to him. There was a hypocrisy in the Order, as Attachment was forbidden on one hand, and fully embraced on the other. Or maybe it was just because he had not reached the end of his apprenticeship. Would Plo cut all of the nurturing, warm ties in the same instant his braid came away? No, he did not believe that, as he had seen the friendship Bultar Swan had with his Master, despite her having been his foster-padawan after the death of her master. 

Lissarkh was even downright friendly, for her species, and had often made Anakin smile by getting Plo to laugh at something she had seen on her missions. He also couldn't believe that Plo would have encouraged him to work with the younglings so much, before their evacuation, if he was supposed to distance himself later. Plo certainly had taken the necessity as hard as Anakin himself; he'd seen his master touch the stuffed akul Ahsoka had left 'to remember her by', in her own words.

He kept his mouth shut currently, listening, and watching as the aide made to leave. He then smiled brightly at Palpatine, and moved in to engage him in conversation, even as he memorized the aide's face, body structure, and his Force sense of her. He'd find her later, learn why she had been afraid of a man that, outwardly, had nothing in common with the Sith monster that had slain Qui-Gon Jinn.

+++

~Anakin needs you, Obi-Wan,~ Qui-Gon inserted firmly in the man's dreaming mind. It was enough to pull the Knight to consciousness, rolling to dress mechanically, as the importance of those words filtered through and gathered adrenaline to stave off the effects of an interrupted sleep.

"What's wrong with Anakin, Master?" he asked, not fully cognizant of the fact he had not gone to bed alone the night before. His voice made his companion murmur, stirring, and that reminded him. "Shh, shh, sleep yourself out," Obi-Wan told her, throwing a bit of Force behind it. He never could have done it to her if she were awake, but Siri had only half-roused, letting him win that without a fight. He scooped up the rest of his clothes, slipping out of the bedchamber to finish getting himself set for a potential battle.

~He's seen or heard something that has him worried for his own safety. He was far enough from that one for me glimpse him, but I still cannot make myself heard to him.~ Qui-Gon was pushing his limits, trying to affect more people than just Obi-Wan, and not met with much success so far.

"Tell me where," Obi-Wan muttered softly as he buckled the clasps on his belt. Qui-Gon relayed that information, then had to make other commentary.

~I thought you and she were committed to being Perfect Jedi instead of pursuing your relationship.~

Obi-Wan ran a hand over his face as he hurried to go get a speeder, wondering if he should be thankful Qui-Gon wasn't much of a voyeur (he hoped) or curse the man for stating the prickly facts. "It's not a relationship. It's friendly stress relief."

That just made Qui-Gon laugh in his mind, before he settled back to watch over Obi-Wan for as long as he could. If the Sith had gotten too close to Anakin again, that wouldn't be very long.

+++

Anakin wasn't certain if he had evaded all of the eyes Palpatine had, but he was fairly sure he had done the best job he could. He had to get back to the Temple, had to tell his Master, tell Obi-Wan, what he had seen.

"Running away, little pet?" came a snarling rasp of a voice before the sound of a lightsaber igniting gave a further edge to the danger he was in. Anakin whirled, pulling his own lightsaber hilt, to face the very being he needed to warn the Order about. The red and black menace was a nightmare in his memories, having killed the man that had found him. 

He had no chance. Obi-Wan had been certain the being had been killed!

"You can't hurt me," Anakin bluffed. "I don't think your master would like it."

The Zabrak smiled, teeth sharp and dangerous, like the horns, like the red lightsaber that was, currently, only showing one end, but the hilt was overly long and Anakin knew it could become a staff like the Sentinels used so diligently.

"And who would that be, little pet?" The warrior laughed. "Maybe I'll just maim you a little, and bring you back to him, with the truth exposed fully, to see what he does with you? Too bad your friend parted me from part of my own body, or I might have a few ideas on that."

Anakin shuddered in revulsion at the implication of that statement, igniting the green blade of his lightsaber to defend himself. He turned aside the sudden lunging attack, and made himself focus fully on surviving this long enough to get the warning out. 

~Master!~

He knew it was already too late, that Plo could never reach him in time, as he turned the next strike and leaped over a third. He landed skillfully, but the impossibly fast warrior was coming around too quick, and Anakin's lightsaber was just enough off center to make a parry unlikely—

— and a blue lightsaber blade caught the blow, forcing it off, as the angle of that parry had more leverage and skill, before Anakin realized Obi-Wan was there, with him, defending him.

~Anakin?!~

~Obi-Wan is here! The Sith from Naboo is here, alive!~

The explosion of concern was fierce, as was the impression that Plo was on his way, before Anakin's eyes were riveted to the fight playing out in front of him, too fast for him to hope for aiding Obi-Wan.

"Shall I spear the boy in front of you to bring out your darkness more fully, Kenobi?" the Zabrak taunted. "It could be just like our last dance." He activated the second blade of his staff, and set for the fight.

"I don't need the darkness this time, murderer," Obi-Wan said in a low, intent voice. Anakin, as devout an audience to dueling as any other young Jedi, could barely follow the flurry of defensive blows, always seeking openings that rebounded with the conserved strength of a Soresu master. The Zabrak was soon injured in more than half a dozen points, and beginning to show fatigue in his arms, though his legs could not tire. Anakin could see now that they were fully prosthetic. 

He also saw the moment that the Zabrak decided to retreat. His furious attack seemed to drive Obi-Wan back, and then the Sith moved to break away.

Obi-Wan abandoned Soresu in that moment for his Master's discipline of Ataru, using a mighty leap and a barrage of strong, fast blows, including a backfist in the warrior's face. Anakin wasn't sure which way he expected the fight to end when the punch landed, as it obviously stunned the Zabrak.

To Obi-Wan's credit, the blow he next landed had been intended to remove the weapon from play, by going after the wrist of the hand that was currently holding it. The Zabrak moved, though, light-staff coming around to punch threw a hole Kenobi had left… and the Knight's instinctive defense put his own blade squarely through the location of many humanoid's hearts.

It apparently was the location for Zabrak, as the warrior faltered, managed to look down, and then fell when Obi-Wan withdrew the lightsaber.

After a long moment to compose himself, Obi-Wan looked at Anakin, eyes noting the dropped jaw.

"This time, young padawan, I believe we will take the body with us," he said, using a completely normal tone of voice, and fighting down the savage feeling of justified satisfaction at the death.

"Good idea, Obi-Wan," Anakin answered that, before moving to help with that detail.

+++

Anakin and Obi-Wan (and a dead Sith warrior) reported to the hastily convened Council. Plo had come, as his Padawan was involved, but was holding his silence behind the boy. 

"What led you to discover the warrior?" Mace asked, though now that he knew just what Anakin Skywalker had pulled with his 'tantrum' and 'leaving' of the Order, he was using a shade more respect in his voice. That the boy had lived in the suspected Sith's home for several ten-days and come out sane was either enough to disprove the notion, or convince them all that a very long game was truly in motion.

"The Chancellor had dismissed an aide earlier in the day, and I had been trying to track her down, because she seemed so afraid. I thought she might know something important, and wanted to talk to her," Anakin said, chin up and shoulders back as he spoke calmly. Obi-Wan had coached him, and now that he was closer to his Master, he could draw on Plo's serenity to cool his strong emotions. "I got to her too late… and saw him standing over the body that had an obvious lightsaber wound as the cause of death."

"But you have not seen him in the Chancellor's company?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked, frowning. Such would have made it a clearer situation.

"No, Master. My instinct tells me that our suspicions are correct. The Chancellor has gone out of his way to treat me very kindly, to see to my every wish. He has encouraged me to criticize the Order at every step. And there are items in his private living area that made me… itch? Like when I ran into the warrior, but to a lesser degree."

"Dark Side, that would be," Yoda said, considering. "Mask himself well, he does."

"Possibly using disciplines such as I teach to advanced students? And to Skywalker, to help him layer his mind to be less easily read," Kit offered. "Disconcerting, for my uncle's people bear no love to the Sith, yet the Jedi were never meant to learn the discipline either."

"What you did, Skywalker, was very dangerous, and should have been discussed with the Council. Master Koon, you are aware of that. However, I understand the reasoning behind such secrecy," Mace said. "And it has deprived the Sith of their ally, one we would not have expected to face again.

"Kenobi, how exactly did you know the boy was in danger?" he finished, looking at the Knight.

"The Force, Master Windu," Obi-Wan answered easily enough.

~Well, I'm not the whole of it,~ Qui-Gon said irreverently, making Obi-Wan literally bite his tongue to keep from retorting out loud.

~You are a pain at times, Master,~ he said in the quiet of their shared bond instead.

"I suggest taking Skywalker off-world for a time, just to be safe," Mace decided after a moment. "Master Gallia? Work with your network of Senators to increase pressure against the Chancellor. I have an instinct of my own," he said with a nod to the Padawan, "that having Skywalker remove himself so suddenly might be enough to push our adversary to make a mistake at last."

+++

"I don't like running away," Anakin said, trying hard to keep the sulk out of it.

"You are not," Plo stated, as he went to the berth closer to the cabin's door. "You are setting into motion events that will bring the Sith down, by tantalizing him to overstep himself."

Anakin had to snort as Plo reframed their departure from Coruscant. "Master, how does anyone think you don't have a sense of humor?"

"Judge me by appearance, do they?"

For all the deep voice was a far cry from Yoda's querulous old-man voice, it was a close enough mimic to have Anakin in stitches from laughing so hard as he took the further berth. He hated that there was no safe compartment for his Master in here, but the ship's tiny medbay had a quarantine room where Plo could escape, if he needed to, from his mask and goggles.

It wouldn't be that long a trip, as they were on their way to the Hidden Temple, to resume care for the younglings there, until it was a little safer to emerge. Anakin supposed it would be good to see Ahsoka again, and the others, see how big they had gotten.

He just wished he could have helped more.

+++

Obi-Wan hadn't gone this deep in meditation in a very long time. He was holding the rock Qui-Gon had given him as a focus, had told Adi how long to let him stay in the room alone, and was opening himself up to the latent precognition he'd had all of his life. Qui-Gon had so often told him to let it go, to be mindful of the now, but if the known seers of the Order were having an inability to see the coming events, maybe letting himself fall into it would help.

That his former padawan was opening himself up to such risk worried Qui-Gon immensely, but he had no option other than to try and monitor from within their Force bond. While he suspected Master Yoda was not as oblivious to his presence as he seemed, no one else had the ability to feel him in the room, let alone see him. He knew Adi suspected Obi-Wan had assistance she could not fathom, given that Qui-Gon had found directions for their investigations.

With Obi-Wan falling deeper into the meditation, Qui-Gon rode along the paths of intuition with him… until they hit the darkness that cloaked the future so tightly. Qui-Gon found his mental awareness thrown completely out Obi-Wan's mind, just as he found it impossible to be anywhere near the Chancellor. His spectral eyes narrowed, feeling like that was conclusive proof that the Sith was blocking the seers… but Obi-Wan was not coming away from the meditation.

~Obi-Wan.~

There was no answer, and Qui-Gon realized that the man was actively pushing against that cloak, without his help.

~Obi-Wan!~

Fear was creeping into the ghostly master. He had to find a way to reach his padawan and dearest love, had to save him from the probably danger he was in. He went from Obi-Wan's physical presence to where Master Yoda was and threw his will into making the ancient being hear him.

~Obi-Wan in danger!~

Yoda's eyes narrowed, his ears went flat, and he looked all around himself… but he also stood, stick coming to hand, as he decided not to ignore the voice that somehow sounded like his grand-padawan. Qui-Gon watched as Yoda moved through the Temple at a faster than usual pace, letting himself into Obi-Wan's quarters. The small Jedi went directly to the Knight, appraising the situation before settling into a meditative pose as well, to follow the young man.

Qui-Gon could only hope this turned out for the better, that Yoda could protect or save Obi-Wan from the Sith.

+++

The Force felt thin around Obi-Wan as he struggled with the web of darkness encroaching on him. He'd pushed and pushed against it, trying to see a path, and then fallen deep into it. His mind whispered with promises of power, showed him so many possibilities that could have been. He kept seeing himself with a scarlet lightsaber, his eyes gone the yellow that the Zabrak's eyes had been. He saw himself rising above the Order that had stolen the boy from him, that had let his Master down.

He rejected these notions. Once he had stabilized with Qui-Gon's presence in his mind, giving him the love they had denied showing one another in life, he had understood that he had been too traumatized to take on a padawan. Anakin was very much his friend now, and Plo Koon had done well by him. As to the Order and Qui-Gon's rocky relationship, that had been by mutual choice. No matter that Obi-Wan sometimes wished the Council had sent more help, there had not been enough known at that time to warrant it.

~All you offer is lies,~ Obi-Wan shouted into the darkness trying to swallow him.

~Is there truth in your precious Order?~

Obi-Wan's mind was assaulted with a history of the Order, the people that it had waged war on, people it had neglected, people that were massacred in the name of the Jedi Order. He was shown glimpses of Jedi suffering and dying, abandoned by those that should have come to their aid. Through it all, the whispers of power, beckoning him the embrace the darkness, to take the ability needed to reform it all in a fashion of his choosing, echoed through him.

~You could have _him_ again,~ the voice whispered, giving him images of a true reunion with his Master, one where Obi-Wan could feel the powerful arms holding him, hear the heartbeat under his ear.

The Knight, caught in the suffocating darkness all around him, suddenly blazed bright with the light that was his core, his soul. 

~I would never accept such, nor would he. We may not be perfect, but you? All you are is power for the sake of destruction leaving nothing in your wake but pain, misery, and chaos!~ 

The shining, strong beacon of the Light lashed out, driving the whispers back, guiding one who was even stronger to him. The new presence joined his will to the Knight's, going on the offensive against the master of Darkness.

`~`~`~`~`

Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan and then Yoda opened their eyes. The old Jedi immediately reached out and placed a hand on the young one, and Qui-Gon could see the flow of Force energy between them, much as he'd seen it draining from Obi-Wan just moments before.

~Obi-Wan?~

"Shh, Master; I am whole," Obi-Wan answered without thinking about it.

"Talk to me, you do not," Yoda said, making a thoughtful noise. "In truth, Qui-Gon, still separate from the Force?"

Obi-Wan looked at the small Jedi and nodded solemnly. "He had been studying the secrets of it before his death, so that he could continue to help, because he'd known a deep divergence was coming. I didn't know it, until… until he saved me from Falling after we returned from Naboo."

Yoda's ears went flat as he heard that frank admission. "Fall, you did not, for the best, yes," he said. "Strong in the Force, become you have. Prepared for that battle, you were not, yet… well you did."

Obi-Wan inclined his head for that praise. "We have to find a way to stop him."

Yoda made a small sound. "Trust in the Force, yes, we will. Rest, you must now." He stood with some difficulty, and started to leave. "Talk more, later, yes."

"Yes, Master Yoda." Obi-Wan watched him leave, before he stretched out on the floor, in front of the window, slipping the rock into his pocket. He then found his communicator, tapping out a message to Adi. [Out of meditation. No need to come check on me.] He closed his eyes, drained, despite the energy Yoda had given him, and bereft of any premonitions at the moment.

Qui-Gon's presence settled around him, securely in place in his mind again, and he slept.

+++

Plo Koon turned the comm off, then looked at the younglings sprawled atop his padawan, tucked in along his side, pinning his arms. Morning would be soon enough to let the boy know that they could go back to Coruscant if they chose. For now, he floated several light blankets over, settling them on the young ones without covering any faces, and then went to his room to remove his protective gear.

He wouldn't be surprised if Anakin chose for them to remain here a time, teaching the younglings. The boy had relaxed so much to be back in the company of those that looked up to him. He had such a caring nature, always eager to help others, and the younglings appealed to that in ways that Plo wished to encourage.

+++

Obi-Wan opened his eyes to see he was not on the floor in front of the windows any longer. Siri was sitting beside him on the bed in his room… and Adi was in a chair next to the bed. For a moment, he felt sixteen again, and color was rising in his skin before he even processed that Siri's hair was not in the padawan style, and his beard itched.

Adi, for her part, made a small laugh at his discomfiture. That set Siri to laughing, reaching out to run a hand through his hair lightly.

"It's not like we haven't grown up and are capable of making choices, Obi," Siri teased him. "Did you think my master was unaware? She's the one that asked me to come stay with you while you slept."

"What about Ferus?" Obi-Wan croaked out, then had to wonder how long he had been asleep.

~Two full days and then some, my love,~ Qui-Gon told him. 

"Ferus is occupied, running secure messages for certain Senators," Adi said firmly. "You, my dear friend, are on strict orders to sleep yourself out, eat as you are able to, and report to the healers for an exam. Apparently your little meditation stunt took away nearly all of your Force connection," she said softly.

He frowned, reaching out for it… and found she was right. He hadn't felt this weak in the Force since … since he'd been a boy.

~It will pass, my dear padawan.~ Qui-Gon's voice was still strongly with him at least.

"Why is Ferus running messages?" he asked, rather than dwell on that. "Master Yoda is alright, isn't he? I distinctly remember him being here before I fell asleep."

Siri shifted, encouraging Obi-Wan to move his head to her lap. She did care deeply for him, yet, like him, she preferred being a Jedi to giving in to a true Attachment. "Ferus is playing messenger because the Senate is having to choose a new Chancellor."

Her strong arm was the only thing to keep him down as shock rippled through him. "What?!"

Adi sighed. "Chancellor Sheev Palpatine was found dead in his apartment by one of his aides, two days ago," she told him. "Roughly about the time you were meditating," she added, making his eyes go wide at the implication. "The death was ruled as a cardiac arrest, but in preparing everything to be removed to his family estates, the senator of Naboo, Horace Vancil, discovered odd artifacts. The Order was consulted. Two lightsabers bearing crimson blades, several holocrons that do not open for a Jedi Master, and certain data files were discovered stored in and around the man's living quarters.

"A full investigation was instigated, and those members of the Senate that were close to the Chancellor, including the Vice-Chancellor, were encouraged not to put themselves forward for the election," Adi finished.

"Oh. Oh my." Obi-Wan drew in a deep breath. "All of that. All of our preparations to protect the Order, our maneuvers with the Senators that aided us, and it ends in … a common death? Not combat, not his trial, just an inconvenient, for him, death that leaves his secrets exposed?"

Siri nodded down at him. "You saved the Republic, and the Order, what could have been a terrible strife. Those who can sift through the future visions were overwhelmed that first day with the possibilities that had been averted."

"Me? I didn't —"

"Yes you did, Obi-Wan," Adi told him firmly. "Master Yoda stated that you fell into a combat of wills with the Sith. Though he admits to feeding you the energy to overcome the man, it was your heart, your faith in the Light, that did this. We are all grateful, and it has been recorded in the Archives. The Republic may never know the danger it was truly in, but the Order does," she said, before standing to leave them. "Siri, make certain he sees the healers today, and that he doesn't overdo it."

"I will, Adi."

The Master left, and Obi-Wan looked up at his dear friend, an eyebrow raising.

"You told her about us?"

Siri laughed softly, and slid down into the bed to hold him properly. "We're good friends, Obi. She could care less; she knows we both hold duty sacred."

~And she's never been a hypocrite,~ Qui-Gon provided, along with a few mental images Obi-Wan could have gone years without seeing. To hide his flustered unease from Siri, he kissed her, settling in to rest a little longer.

+++

On Kamino, young boys were growing into men. That their destiny was changing was unknown to them or their care takers.

On Serenno, a man considered his path ahead of him. Perhaps there were other ways than war to attain power, and there was no need to follow the script left for him by a bitter old Sith.

The galaxy continued on…

**Author's Note:**

> I have chosen to have Lissarkh already graduated to Knight at the point Anakin is found, for the purposes of this fic. In canon, she was recently made Plo Koon's padawan at that point.
> 
> There have been many tumblr posts about Anakin being raised by other masters. This is my take. It also borrows heavily from the tumblr concept of Anakin and the Creche. Thank you to everyone that has given fuel to that idea.
> 
> I do not intend to write a sequel, but if someone wants to explore what happens to the clones or with Dooku, by all means, run with it and LINK ME!


End file.
